A new play by Mark Twain?

Considering the writer died in 1910, it sounds a little far-fetched. But this week Pioneer Theatre Company is offering the regional premiere of "Is He Dead?"

"Scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin was going through Twain's papers at the Bancroft Library in Berkeley," said Charles Morey, artistic director at PTC as well as the show's director.

"She came across the script and laughed out loud. She got it to Broadway producer Bob Boyette, and he laughed out loud. He put it in the hands of playwright David Ives who said, 'What an opportunity to collaborate with Mark Twain.' "

Twain, who is often referred to as the father of American literature, had only had a couple of plays produced. "He was a brilliant novelist and a brilliant short story writer," Morey said, "but perhaps an indifferent playwright since he didn't put his full attention to it."

"But the play has Twain's trademark wit and humor," Morey added. "It has a very late 19th century feel to it, with a little bit of an ironic eye."

The original version "had better than 20 named characters plus as assortment of ensemble that would drive the cast up to 30," he said. A cast that size can be prohibitive for many theaters. "Ives paired it back. He put it in a two-act format instead of three and added a couple of comic devices that work very, very well. Some of the things Ives comes up with are brilliant," Morey said.

"Is He Dead?" which ran on Broadway in 2007, is about an unappreciated artist, Jean-Francois Millet (a real artist, though most of the details about him are fictional), living in Paris in 1846.

"As we all know, no artist is recognized in his lifetime," Morey said. So, Millet and his friends hatch a plot to fake his death in order to drive up the cost of his paintings. In the meantime, he disguises himself as his imaginary twin sister … needless to say, high jinks ensue.

"It's full of wit and humor. It's slapstick. And you have a guy in a dress — that's the backbone of farce," Morey said, chuckling.

Wearing the dress and corset is actor Michael Keyloun, who last appeared as Leo Bloom in the 2008 production of "The Producers."

"You have no idea!" Keyloun shouted into the phone when asked if he has a new appreciation for women after walking a mile in their heels.

"I've always given props to women for all the added hassle they went through, but wow."

He has been practicing with petticoats and slowly adding different elements to get used to them. "When you have only the heels or only the skirt, one thing at a time, you can negotiate it," he said, "but when you add it all together, I'm worried about tripping and falling."